Flow-Blurring Fuel Injection
Project
Tommy HarrisNicholas Chua
Vu DanhRyan FontenotHeath Headley
Advised by: Dr. Jiang
Team Name and Roles• Team FIDDLE (fuel injection design and
development leading engineers)• Ryan Fontenot – Team Leader• Nicholas Chua – Finance• Tommy Harris – Communications• Vu Danh – Construction• Heath Headley - Testing
To be covered• Fuel Injection Basics• Objectives of Project• Objective Execution• Equations and Theory• Experiment Plan/ Results
What is Fuel Injection?
Ways to Improve• Maximize surface production• Minimized droplet coalescence • Minimized gas expense
Flow-Blurring Fuel Injection
• Research done by Dr. Alfonso Gañán-Calvo• Chair of fluid mechanics at the University of
Seville
• Higher efficiency• Independent of viscosity
How Does It Work?• Takes advantage of turbulent air
currents• Occurs at certain height to
diameter ratio•
Potential Application• Turbines
• Viscous fuel compatibility
Goals• Design unique flow-focusing to flow-blurring
fuel injector using Solidworks• 3-D print design • Install leak-proof and reliable fuel and air
connections • Set up test lab with all necessary equipment• Outline experiment plan for relating spray
characteristics to ALR and H/D ratio
Goals• Conduct experiments and collect desired data• Organize data into neat and presentable form
Criteria• Offset distance must be adjustable• Fuel feed tube diameter must be either
adjustable or interchangeable• Injector nozzle must attach to some sort of
holder• All parts must be 3-D printable• Exit orifice diameter must equal fuel feed
tube diameter
Constraints• Material Constraints
• Limited to 3-D printable plastic like PLA or ABS
• Size Constraints • Must be as small as practicable• Compatible with a 1/16” NPT compression fitting • Compatible with a 3/8” NPT air hose adapter
Constraints• Financial Constraints
• budget limit of $500
• Time Constraints• 13 weeks from start to finish
First Design
Final Design
Fuel Inlet
Air Inlet
Air ChamberExit Orifice
Plastic Prototype
Injector Holder
Air Chamber
Detachable Fuel Nozzles
Plastic Prototype
Setting the Offset Distance
• Pitch: 1.5 mm/turn• The following table how much to turn nozzle
for testing H/D H (mm) Turns
0.09375 0.1875 (1/8)
0.1875 0.375 (1/4)
0.28125 0.5625 (3/8)
0.375 0.75 (1/2)
Gas to liquid mass Ratio (GLR)
• GLR = • High GLR → small droplet size and quick • Vaporization (for H/D ≤ 0.25)
Water Supply• Cole-Parmer Pump
• Flow rate can be set to an exact value
• Controls flow rate to a minimum of 0.6 ml/min
Air Supply• Craftsmen Air
Compressor• 125 PSI
Flow Meter• Key Instruments (Ki)
variable area flow meter• Measures from 1-10
SCFM
Testing Set Up
Test Procedures• Set offset distance for the fuel injector• Set the GLR for testing• Run the fuel injector and photograph for
documentation• Reiterate runs at differing GLR settings• Change the offset distance and repeat steps
Flow-Blurring
Flow-Focusing
Data Analysis
Conclusions• Flow-blurring atomization produces a smaller angle of
spray• This implies smaller droplet size
• Maximize surface production
• Flow-blurring enhances atomization
Recommendations• Alternate design to manufacture with metallic
material• Manufacture injector with transparent
material• Test with high speed camera
Questions??